Sermons from Park Hill UCC Denver, Colorado Rev. Dr. David Bahr August 15, 2021 “There is a Time” Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 – New Revised Standard Version For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. There is a time for every matter under heaven; a season for everything. Planting and plucking. Breaking down and building up. Times to weep, laugh, mourn and dance. Early in the pandemic, someone brilliantly noted that we had entered a season to refrain from embracing. And yes, the time to embrace again can’t come soon enough. Much of the wisdom by the quester, the author of Ecclesiastes, is common sense. Of course there is a time for birth and a time for death, although death often seems to come before its time. A few other lines, however, don’t make sense. For example, when is there an appropriate time for hate? One common error in interpreting this text is to think of this passage as prescriptive instead of descriptive. Looking back on his or her life, the author, perhaps an elderly king, is describing the truth that there are indeed times of hate and war in our lives. This is wisdom born of experience. They weren’t looking forward, like prophets, and suggesting, prescribing, that we should hate or declare war. Wisdom exposes that hate and war, as well as love and peace, simply exist as the ying and yang of life. Life is the constant search, the quest, for balance. And then things change again. As most of you now know, we have entered a transition time. In fact, upon hearing the news that I have accepted a call to a new church in San Diego, you may have felt a little knocked off balance. But there is indeed a season to come together and a time to part. A time to say hello and a right time to say farewell. When is that right time? I had no idea on April 12. When I drove to San Diego, I had no other intention than to be restored by ocean waves and return to Denver refreshed for a new season, getting ready to regather for worship in person. I was certain I wasn’t ready to leave, but yet, when I actually asked myself, “Am I ready,” I heard as clear as day, “Yes.” A little stunned by the immediacy of the answer, from that point on, I knew my responsibility was to be ready and get ready for a change. God may be calling, but I had to do my part. As we discussed in Lunch and Lectionary on Thursday, our decision to pursue change comes as a partnership. It is in relationship with God that we choose to participate in co-creating our future. It is not ours alone to make. Nor is our future imposed by God. Not to mention, circumstances often disrupt our carefully developed plans. As Woody Allen said, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” But again, as our Lunch group agreed, God does not impose the future upon us. God invites us to participate in creating it. Things like anger and fear often stand in the way, yet we are always invited to take the next best step from wherever we are, no matter where that is. Most of you have heard or read my call story by now, but a quick recap: In March I kept sensing a need to sit by ocean waves. I had never felt called to water before, so I thought it was important to pay attention. Many of you have spoken of the Oregon coast, so I looked into it. The cost was exorbitant. Besides, I wanted to visit my sister in Phoenix before it got even hotter, so once they were fully vaccinated, I bought a ticket. The ocean could wait. A couple of weeks before my trip, Mona announced she needed surgery that would require 12 weeks in bed with her foot elevated. She didn’t want me to simply sit next to her bed for a week, so she suggested I spend one night and then drive to San Diego. I found an Airbnb a mile from the beach for $60 a night. Talk about timing. There’s never been anything remotely that affordable since or will be ever again! I walked the beach every day and one evening surfed the web for UCC churches in the area. I discovered one was searching for a new pastor, so I read their profile. A profile is a massive 40 page document describing the church in every possible detail and articulating what they seek in a new pastor. Not very many churches put their profile directly on their webpage. Usually, you have to go through official channels, which you can’t do unless you have a profile and are officially searching. I wasn’t looking so I didn’t have a profile. Out of curiosity I read about the church and thought it sounded great, not that different in mission and theology than Park Hill. But that was it. Interesting church. Until two nights later I said, let me read that again and thought, I could do that. But I was certain I was not ready for a change. And God laughed. Meanwhile, after 15 years, the pastor of Mission Hills retired in January 2020. And then the pandemic hit. After several months, an interim was in place and a search committee was formed in October. They met weekly on Zoom and finished their profile and posted it at the end of December. They started to receive profiles in January and interview candidates. At first many on the committee thought their job was to hire a new pastor. But a search committee is not a hiring committee. It is a discernment group. In fact, many people who have served on good search committees have come to discover it is one of the most spiritually rich and fruitful times in their faith lives. A lot of work, but worth it. And they discover that discernment takes time. Even so, there comes a time when a decision must finally be made. Congregations are known to become impatient. So, after reading 32 profiles, interviewing a dozen, they narrowed it down to a few and finally to one. But they hit a plateau. Something wasn’t right. The committee wasn’t in full agreement. The committee co-chairs emailed the group advising them, if it doesn’t feel right, not to rush, to trust the process, and most importantly, to pray. It was more important to discern the right candidate than to finish hiring a new pastor. That email was dated Thursday, May 6th. On Friday, May 7th, their conference minister reached out to ask if they would consider one more candidate. That’s because, though shocked that I was ready, on Tuesday, May 4th, I decided that my responsibility was to participate with God in co-creating my future. That required me to write my profile. Art and I had concluded I would regret it if I didn’t at least try to apply. I initiated my background check, which can take a while, and then I went to their website to print out the profile. It wasn’t there. I went to the official UCC website, and it said they weren’t accepting more profiles. Officially, “on hold.” That can mean they have found their candidate and it was too late. Or maybe not. So, I contacted our conference minister to inquire for me. She did, adding a good word. On Thursday, my background check was already back – which included my arrest for aggravated disorderly conduct, which I always laugh sounds like a drunken brawl. It was just an arrest for civil disobedience. Our conference minister then quickly verified my profile, the last step. It was in the committee’s hands on Friday – again, the day after they said they should pause to pray. The committee discussed it on Monday and offered me an interview for the following Monday and the next day offered me a second interview. All of this happened within one month of returning from San Diego. I had no intention of change. Leaving was the last thing on my mind. God laughed and invited me to participate in the co-creation of my future. Our future. The whole thing still gives me chills. I listened to the Spirit call me to ocean waves. The committee prayed to discern, not quickly hire. And we met in the middle, the doors gently opened on every obstacle, including Art who was initially opposed to even discussing the idea and is now delighted and excited for new adventures. I still don’t get why my sister needed to spend 12 weeks in bed for the story to work, but she is glad her misery at least served some greater purpose! And I believe that will be true here as well – not 12 weeks in bed but doors will gently open on every obstacle. Change isn’t always easy, but the lack of change invites death. The world runs on movement, to quote Martha Jones. Imagine looking back and realizing you should have left a year ago. Imagine how much worse if you had said to me, you should have left a year ago! Change embraced as a partnership with God is invigorating. You will get to experience a whole new set of gifts and skills that will build upon and enhance the ministry we have done together for 14 years. Trust that God is the process. Trust that Park Hill has the right leaders in place. And for whomever serves on the future search committee, remember to discern for the best candidate, not rush to hire the most expedient one. And if you do, I believe you will experience the same miracle I have. That’s not just advice for a church but in our personal lives too. Discerning our future takes time because it’s a partnership. Not in prescribing, our future is found in listening to promptings. Not rushing. Not being afraid of the obstacles that appear. They’re just doors. Some are meant to open, some are not. It may not yet be time. Those that do not open simply invite us to open the door next to it. There could be nothing worse than to rush God by imposing our own will. And eventually we’ll be able to describe how things unfolded in God’s time. In partnership with God, there is indeed a time and season for everything under the sun. I have been incredibly blessed by this season in my life. And I pray it has been a blessing for you. But this is not a farewell sermon. And I promise not to preach four more farewell sermons. I promise. The gospel must still be proclaimed for our times. But this is simply part of the process of figuring out how we got here to this place and time. And what we should do next, including exploring the stages of grief we will each experience. Grief, as well as anticipation for what God has in store for all of us next. Because again, the world runs on movement. Avoiding change is a form of death. And we believe in a God of life. A God who is always holding out the promise of life, even as we sit here right now. And that is very good news.
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